Olympics in 2021, Too Late for Judy Reynolds' Vancouver K?

Dressage

Belgium

With the Tokyo Olympic Games being postponed to 2012, riders will get more time to prepare for the apex of their career. Wheras for the younger horses this extra time is beneficial, for the older horses whose swan song was planned for Tokyo, the door might be closed now.

One of the most prominent pairs that had a full focus on Tokyo was Irish Judy Reynolds with her Dutch warmblood horse Vancouver K (by Jazz x Ferro). The black gelding is 18 now and will be 19 in 2021.

“My horse is a little older so he doesn’t have to do as much. He just has to prepare to peak at the right time," Reynolds told The Irish Examiner. "He’s 18-years old, and will be 19 next year. He is definitely at the upper end of the age spectrum in terms of competing horses. For me, that is a concern, whether he’ll be too old [next year]. Of course, there is no age limit. The horse simply has to be fit, healthy and motivated to do the job."

Reynolds and Vancouver are the anchors of the Irish team, which wrote history at the 2019 European Championship by unlocking a team place for Ireland in Tokyo.

"Vancouver K is still very motivated to work. He doesn’t believe he’s 18. He believes he is only a young teenager. This will sound funny but I will let him guide me," said Judy. "When he says he is ready to retire, I have to listen to him. I do have another horse, Leroy, who is stepping up to that level at the moment. Maybe for him, the delay will be good. Maybe, I’ll be lucky enough to have the choice of two.”

The emotional impact of the postponement is big for many athletes.

“I expected the news to come, but there is still a wave of disappointment when it is officially confirmed, because it is something you have been focused on for years," said Judy. "And the original date wasn’t that far away at this point. You were certainly counting down the weeks and months. That is now taken away, and so there is a bit of disappointment. But, of course, you are not lacking perspective and I fully realise there are bigger issues at the moment.”

Dufour and Cassidy at the 2019 Europeans

Judy's horse is not the only senior equine athlete with Tokyo 2020 marked on the calendar. Danish Cathrine Dufour's most experience horse is the 17-year old Atterupgaards Cassidy, who would be 18 in 2021. Dufour has already expressed that she will be taking her younger horse, Bohemiam, to Tokyo because he will be able to cope better with the heat.

Spanish Beatriz Ferrer-Salat has been long-listed by the Spanish Equestrian federation with her now 19-year old Westfalian Delgado. Ferrer has not yet announced a retirement date for Delgado (by De Niro x Weltmeyer) and it was unsure whether she was actually opting to compete Delgado in the Spanish team qualifiers this year. The Spanish Olympian injured herself severely in riding accident in February and will take a long time to recover from two pelvic fractures.

It is still unsure when the 2020 show circuit will start again in these corona virus times.

“No idea," said Reynolds. "The calendar is completely up in the clouds. Nobody has a clue as to when competitions will start back. We just have to wait and see."